Camera Basic Function Management

Overview

To help developers quickly develop camera control features for Autel Robotics aircraft based on PSDK, Autel Robotics PSDK provides camera management functionality. Developers can use the camera management interface to simultaneously set and retrieve values for parameters such as ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and exposure on multiple cameras mounted on the aircraft. They can also control the camera to take photos, record videos, and perform zoom operations

Camera Management Functionality

When using the camera management functionality, developers need to first initialize the camera management module in PSDK. Then, based on actual use needs, they should set the camera mode. Finally, according to the user's logic, they can implement the required functionality, such as setting camera parameters or checking the status of different features. Below is an example for the Linux platform.

Functionality		4T	4T XE	4N	4TH	PSDK
Basic Information	Get Camera Type	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Get Firmware Version	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Get Camera Connection Status	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Shooting Function	Set/Get Working Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Photo Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Start/Stop Photography	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Continuous Shooting Parameters	-	-	-	-	-
	Set/Get Timed Photography Parameters	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Start/Stop Video Recording	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Camera Photography Status	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Multi-Lens Photography Storage Settings	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Get Camera Photo Format Range	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Camera Photo Format	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Get Timed Photography Countdown	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Recording Status	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Current Recording Video Duration	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Multi-Lens Video Storage Settings	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Get Camera Video Format Range	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Supported Video Formats	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Get Camera Video Source Range	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Get Camera Lens Video Resolution and Frame Rate	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Zoom/Focus Functions	Set/Get Focus Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Focus Target	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Start/Stop Continuous Optical Zoom	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Set/Get Optical Zoom Parameters	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Set Camera Manual Focus Value	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Camera Basic Parameters	Set/Get Exposure Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get ISO	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Aperture	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Shutter Speed	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Set/Get Exposure Compensation Parameters	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Camera Lens Auto Exposure Lock	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Reset Camera Parameters	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Media File Management	Get Camera SD Card Storage Info	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Format Storage	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Infrared Camera Functions	Set Infrared Zoom Parameters	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Set/Get Gain Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Set FFC Calibration Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Manually Trigger FFC Calibration Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
	Enable or Disable Zoom Linkage Function	✓	✓	✓	✓	-
Metering Function	Set Camera Lens Metering Mode	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Camera Lens Spot Metering	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Using Camera Management Functionality

1. Camera Management Module Initialization

To control camera functions on a payload device developed using PSDK, you must first call the UAV_CameraManager_Init() interface to initialize the camera management module.

USER_LOG_INFO("--> Step 1: Init camera manager module");
UAV_Test_WidgetLogAppend("--> Step 1: Init camera manager module");
returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_Init();
if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS) {
    USER_LOG_ERROR("Init camera manager failed, error code: 0x%08X\r\n", returnCode);
    goto exitCameraModule;
}

2. Get Camera Type and Version

Developers can retrieve the camera type and version on the aircraft by calling the UAV_CameraManager_GetCameraType and UAV_CameraManager_GetFirmwareVersion interfaces, respectively.

    USER_LOG_INFO("--> Step 2: Get camera type and version");
    UAV_Test_WidgetLogAppend("--> Step 2: Get camera type and version");
    returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_GetCameraType(&cameraType);
    if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS) {
        USER_LOG_ERROR("Get mounted camera's type failed, error code: 0x%08X\r\n",
                        returnCode);
        goto exitCameraModule;
    }
    USER_LOG_INFO("Mounted camera's type is %s",
                  s_cameraTypeStrList[UAV_Test_CameraManagerGetCameraTypeIndex(cameraType)].cameraTypeStr);

    returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_GetFirmwareVersion(&firmwareVersion);
    if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS) {
        USER_LOG_ERROR("Get mounted camera's firmware version failed, error code: 0x%08X\r\n",
                       returnCode);
        goto exitCameraModule;
    }
    USER_LOG_INFO("Mounted camera's firmware is V%d.%d.%d.%d\r\n", 
                  firmwareVersion.firmware_version[0], firmwareVersion.firmware_version[1],
                  firmwareVersion.firmware_version[2], firmwareVersion.firmware_version[3]);

3. Set or Get Camera Parameters

The camera management module provides a series of Set or Get interfaces to adjust camera parameters. For example, you can retrieve and set the camera's ISO parameter by calling the UAV_CameraManager_GetISO and UAV_CameraManager_SetISO interfaces, respectively.

T_UAVReturnCode returnCode;
E_UAVCameraManagerISO isoDataTemp;

returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_GetISO(&isoDataTemp);
if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS &&
    returnCode != UAV_ERROR_CAMERA_MANAGER_MODULE_CODE_UNSUPPORTED_COMMAND) {
    USER_LOG_ERROR("Get mounted camera's iso failed, error code: 0x%08X.",
                    returnCode);
    return returnCode;
}

if (isoDataTemp == isoData) {
    USER_LOG_INFO("The mounted camera's iso is already what you expected.");
    return UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS;
}

returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_SetISO(isoData);
if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS &&
    returnCode != UAV_ERROR_CAMERA_MANAGER_MODULE_CODE_UNSUPPORTED_COMMAND) {
    USER_LOG_ERROR("Set mounted camera's iso %d failed, "
                   "error code: 0x%08X.", isoData, returnCode);
}

return returnCode;

4. Control Camera to Perform Specific Actions

Developers can execute specific camera actions by calling the corresponding interfaces. For example, by calling the UAV_CameraManager_StartShootPhoto interface, you can command the camera at a designated position to take a photo.

/*!< start to shoot single photo */
USER_LOG_INFO("Mounted position %d camera start to shoot photo", position);
returnCode = UAV_CameraManager_StartShootPhotoEx(position);
if (returnCode != UAV_ERROR_SYSTEM_MODULE_CODE_SUCCESS) {
    USER_LOG_ERROR("Mounted position %d camera shoot photo failed, "
                   "error code :0x%08X", position, returnCode);
}